1994年美國報界評出十大最離奇的新聞。其中一件新聞是這樣的： 這一年的3月23日，紐約警察總局的法醫(yī)檢查了一具尸體，得出結(jié)論：此人死于槍擊頭部。

死者名叫羅納德·奧普斯，從他留下的遺書中得知，他本來是想從一幢十層高的樓的頂部跳下自殺的。然而，當他跳樓后身子經(jīng)過第九層樓前時，一顆子彈從窗戶里射出，將他當場打死。 警方經(jīng)過調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，死者和開槍的人都不知道一個情況———當時八樓正在施工，工人們在那里剛裝了一張安全網(wǎng)，也就是說羅納德·奧普斯如果不是被槍擊而亡，他的自殺計劃其實是不能如愿的。然而，根據(jù)法律，一般說來，一個人如果實施有計劃的自殺并且最終身亡了，即使自殺過程發(fā)生變化未能如自殺者所愿，那么依法也應該認定這個人是自殺。

可是，當警方對九樓射出的子彈進行調(diào)查后，案子的性質(zhì)又有了變化。當時，九樓的一對老夫妻發(fā)生了口角，正在吵架，老先生拿出了一把槍恐嚇老太太，后來又摳動了扳機，但是子彈沒有打中老太太，而是從窗戶飛了出去擊中了羅納德·奧普斯。根據(jù)法律，一個人如果想殺甲，卻錯殺了乙，那么仍然應該判這個人對乙犯了殺人罪。因此，此案應該是一樁兇殺案。當老先生面臨殺人罪的指控時，老先生和老太太都一致表示，他們倆當時都以為槍里面是沒有子彈的。老先生解釋說，用沒有裝子彈的槍恐嚇老太太，是他許多年以來與老伴爭吵時一直有的一種做法。他沒有殺害老伴的意圖。如果老兩口的話屬實，那么這就是一起誤殺的案子。

問題的關(guān)鍵就是子彈是在什么樣的情況下由什么人裝進去的。警方在調(diào)查中找到了一 名證人，這名證人證明在案發(fā)六周之前親眼看到這對老夫妻的兒子往這把槍里面裝了子彈。警方從更深入的調(diào)查中得知，因為老太太決定停止給成年的兒子經(jīng)濟支持，這個兒子懷恨在心，起了殺意。他知道他的父親有用槍恐嚇老太太的習慣，所以就給槍 裝了子彈，希望借父親之手殺了母親。既然這個兒子明知給槍裝子彈會有什么樣的后果，那么即使他沒有親自摳動扳機，他也應該被指控犯了殺人罪。所以，此案就成了老夫妻的兒子對羅納德·奧普斯犯下了殺人罪。

但是，峰回路轉(zhuǎn)，警方在進一步調(diào)查后發(fā)現(xiàn)，這對老夫妻的兒子其實就是死者羅納德·奧普斯本人。他由于借刀殺人之計一直沒有得逞，心生沮喪，于是，在1994年3月 23日這一天他決定從十層高的樓頂跳樓自殺，然而卻被從九樓窗戶射出的子彈打死了。

也就是說，羅納德·奧普斯自己殺了自己，所以此案最后仍被認定為是一樁自殺案。

On March 23, 1994, a medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a gunshot wound of the head caused by a shotgun. Investigation to that point had revealed that the decedent had jumped from the top of a ten-story building with the intent to commit suicide. (He left a note indicating his despondency.) As he passed the 9th floor on the way down, his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast through a window, killing him instantly. Neither the shooter nor the decedent was aware that a safety net had been erected at the 8th floor level to protect some window washers, and that the decedent would most likely not have been able to complete his intent to commit suicide because of this.

Ordinarily, a person who starts into motion the events with a suicide intent ultimately commits suicide even though the mechanism might be not what he intended. That he was shot on the way to certain death nine stories below probably would not change his mode of death from suicide to homicide, but the fact that his suicide intent would not have been achieved under any circumstance caused the medical examiner to feel that he had homicide on his hands.

Further investigation led to the discovery that the room on the 9th floor from whence the shotgun blast emanated was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. He was threatening her with the shotgun because of an interspousal spat and became so upset that he could not hold the shotgun straight. Therefore, when he pulled the trigger, he completely missed his wife, and the pellets went through the window, striking the decedent.

When one intends to kill subject A but kills subject B in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject B. The old man was confronted with this conclusion, but both he and his wife were adamant in stating that neither knew that the shotgun was loaded. It was the longtime habit of the old man to threaten his wife with an unloaded shotgun. He had no intent to murder her; therefore, the killing of the decedent appeared then to be accident. That is, the gun had been accidentally loaded.

But further investigation turned up a witness that their son was seen loading the shotgun approximately six weeks prior to the fatal accident. That investigation showed that the mother (the old lady) had cut off her son’s financial support, and her son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that the father would shoot his mother. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.

Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son, Ronald Opus himself, had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to get his mother murdered. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23, only to be killed by a shotgun blast through a 9th story window.

The medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

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